Low pressure decorative laminates generally are laminated articles comprising an overlay sheet and a structural substrate consolidated or bonded together into a unit or a structure as a result of the application of heat and temperature. The overlay sheet may be a decorative sheet made up of a high quality paper bearing some sort of indicia or decoration.
In the past, laminated structure have been prepared using both high pressure and low pressure procedures. In each case, the sheet which is bonded to the substrate generally is first impregnated with a thermosetting resin such as, for example, a melamine or urea formaldehyde resin, and the laminated structure is completed by applying heat and pressure sufficient to bond the sheet to the substrate.
A significant problem encountered during such prior art processing involves the production of volatile organics, such as formaldehyde, during the bonding operation. This is an expensive and sometime inefficient processing procedure.